Sunday, May 6

Madison, WI

Noon CT

Northwestern

34-16, 14-8

Wisconsin

27-20, 11-9

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Northwestern	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	3	3	0
Wisconsin	0	0	0	0	4	0	X	4	8	0

Photo by: Stephen J. Carrera

Wildcats Fall Short Against Badgers, 4-3; Earn Bye at Big Ten Tournament

5/6/2018 2:14:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

MADISON, Wis. – Northwestern attempted one final Big Ten comeback Sunday in the regular-season finale at Wisconsin, but came up one run short of the Badgers, 4-3, at Goodman Diamond.

Northwestern concludes the regular season with a 34-16 record, 14-8 in the Big Ten. NU will be the fourth seed in next week's Big Ten Tournament also in Madison, and will receive a bye into the quarterfinal round Friday where it will play the winner of Thursday's No. 5 seed vs. No. 12 seed game between Ohio State and Iowa. NU's quarterfinal game is a 7 p.m. start Friday night. The full bracket is available here.

Wisconsin concludes its season at 27-20, 11-9 in the league, and will be the No. 7 seed in next week's tournament.

Both Northwestern starter Morgan Newport and Wisconsin starter Haley Hestekin faced the minimum during the first trip through the order on Sunday. For Newport, her defense helped her to accomplish the feat by turning a pair of double plays behind her.

In the first, centerfielder Sabrina Rabin -- who is accustomed to starting games with an offensive flourish -- instead got the defense rolling early for the Wildcats on Sunday. She tracked down a fly ball in right center for the first out of the bottom of the first inning before foiling a hit-and-run later on when she snared a liner in left center and got the ball back in quickly to double off the runner and end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, Wisconsin notched a leadoff single before the next batter attempted a sacrifice bunt. That Badger popped the ball up and Sammy Nettling quickly gloved it before firing to first to double up the runner there.

It was Northwestern that was first to break the pitchers' spell in the top of the fourth. With one out, Rachel Lewis rolled a single back through the middle before, with two outs, she came all the way around to score when Nettling blasted a double that evaded the glove of a retreating and leaping left fielder near the track, staking NU to a 1-0 lead.

Newport came back with a 1-2-3 top of the fourth against the top of the Wisconsin order, beginning the inning with a dogged defensive play herself to make an out at first before ending the inning with a swinging K.

Wisconsin was able to build a rally for the first time in the game in the bottom of the fifth, converting three-straight one-out hits into a pair of runs to take the lead. Later in the frame, with two outs, a double plated two more to make the Badgers' lead three, 4-1. Kenna Wilkey entered in relief after the double and ended the inning on one pitch.

Wisconsin made a pitching change of its own to start the sixth, bringing Kaitlyn Menz into the circle in relief of Hestekin. The first pitch Menz threw hit Mac Dunlap, then she walked Rabin and hit Lewis with a pitch as well to load the bases with no outs. Morgan Nelson then drove the first pitch she saw into left field to plate both Dunlap and Rabin, cutting the NU deficit all the way down to one, 4-3. Bad luck then struck when Nettling smashed a ball to third when it was snagged, making for an easy 5-3 double play that helped to end the rally.
Wilkey kept Wisconsin off the board in the sixth, but NU did not have another comeback in its back pocket in the loss.

Newport – yesterday's winning pitcher – took the loss on Sunday to fall to 13-7 on the season. She allowed four runs on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Wilkey threw 1.1 scoreless innings of relief with one hit and two Ks.